Central Java is the cultural heartland of Java island, being home to traditional arts and crafts such as batik, gamelan and wayang kulit. The area is well-connected by railway, with many trains from all major destinations in Java calling at Semarang, Solo and Yogyakarta. Each of these cities also has an airport with daily flights from elsewhere in the archipelago.

The province contains Ribus with some of the best viewpoints in Indonesia and hiking is incredibly popular here, especially with Indonesian students. Merbabu, Merapi, Sumbing, Sindoro and Slamet are among the finest hikes in Indonesia. Dieng (Prau) offers a pleasant ridge walk with great views of higher neighbouring mountains.  Unfortunately it is also very, very popular at weekends to the extent that it is now difficult to take a photo that doesn’t have a tent in it. Muria is not especially well-known outside the local area but is a lovely place to witness sunrise. Both Ungaran and Telomoyo are outlying peaks from the Merbabu massif and moderately interesting in their own right.

If you are not a fan of sharing the summit views with hundreds of other hikers, it is best you go either mid-week or during Ramadan, as over the last decade the number of hikers on mountains across Java during the weekend has increased unimaginably. This means that trails are usually obvious (though badly-eroded) but also that there is a fair amount of litter and if camping you may not get much sleep due to the incessant chattering of local student hikers.

A Selection of Photos of Central Java’s Ribus

Map of Central Java’s Ribus

 

Download these peaks as a kml file.

Statistics and Links to Central Java’s Ribus

Name                           

Elevation   

Prominence   

Ribu Category     

Island        

 
Slamet 3,436 m 3,292 m Google MarkerSangat Tinggi Java  
Sumbing 3,371 m 2,628 m Google MarkerSangat Tinggi Java  
Sindoro 3,150 m 1,761 m Google MarkerSangat Tinggi Java  
Merbabu 3,145 m 2,432 m Google MarkerSangat Tinggi Java  
Merapi 2,930 m 1,356 m Google MarkerTinggi Sedang Java  
Dieng (Prau) 2,600m 938 m Google MarkerSpesial Java  
Ungaran 2,050 m 1,320 m Google MarkerTinggi Sedang Java  
Telomoyo 1,894m 617 m Google MarkerSpesial Java  
Muria 1,610 m 1,602 m Google MarkerKurang Tinggi Java  

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